Sergey Lavrov insisted that Russia has nothing to do with Snowden or his travel plans. Lavrov wouldn't say where Snowden is, but he lashed out angrily at Washington for demanding his extradition and warning of negative consequences if Moscow fails to comply. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday urged Moscow to "do the right thing" and turn over Snowden.

"We consider the attempts to accuse Russia of violation of U.S. laws and even some sort of conspiracy, which on top of all that are accompanied by threats, as absolutely ungrounded and unacceptable," Lavrov said. "There are no legal grounds for such conduct of U.S. officials."

The defiant tone underlined the Kremlin's readiness to challenge Washington at a time when U.S.-Russian relations are strained over Syria and a Russian ban on adoptions by Americans.

U.S. and Ecuadorean officials said they believed Snowden was still in Russia. He fled there Sunday from Hong Kong, where he had been hiding out since his disclosure of the broad scope of two highly classified U.S. counterterror surveillance programs. The programs collect vast amounts of Americans' phone records and worldwide online data in the name of national security.

Lavrov claimed that the Russian government found out about Snowden's flight from Hong Kong only from news reports.

"We have no relation to Mr. Snowden, his relations with American justice or his travels around the world," Lavrov said. "He chooses his route himself, and we have learned about it from the media."

Snowden booked a seat on a Havana-bound flight from Moscow on Monday en route to Venezuela and then possible asylum in Ecuador, but he didn't board the plane. Russian news media have reported that he has remained in a transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, but journalists there haven't seen him.

A representative of WikiLeaks has been traveling with Snowden, and the organization is believed to be assisting him in arranging asylum. The organization's founder, Julian Assange, said Monday that Snowden was only passing through Russia and had applied for asylum in Ecuador, Iceland and possibly other countries.

A high-ranking Ecuadorean official told The Associated Press that Russia and Ecuador were discussing where Snowden could go, saying the process could take days. He also said Ecuador's ambassador to Moscow had not seen or spoken to Snowden. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.

He described the decision on whether to grant Snowden asylum as a choice between "betraying the citizens of the world or betraying certain powerful elites in a specific country."

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said the U.S. had made demands to "a series of governments," including Ecuador, that Snowden be barred from any international travel other than to be returned to the U.S. The U.S. has revoked Snowden's passport.

"We're following all the appropriate legal channels and working with various other countries to make sure that the rule of law is observed," President Barack Obama told reporters.

Some experts said it was likely that Russian spy agencies were questioning Snowden on what he knows about U.S. electronic espionage against Moscow.

"If Russian special services hadn't shown interest in Snowden, they would have been utterly unprofessional," Igor Korotchenko, a former colonel in Russia's top military command turned security analyst, said on state Rossiya 24 television.

The Kremlin has previously said Russia would be ready to consider Snowden's request for asylum.

Snowden is a former CIA employee who later was hired as a contractor for the NSA. In that job, he gained access to documents that he gave to newspapers The Guardian and The Washington Post to expose what he contends are privacy violations by an authoritarian government.

Snowden also told the South China Morning Post newspaper in Hong Kong that "the NSA does all kinds of things like hack Chinese cellphone companies to steal all of your SMS data." He is believed to have more than 200 additional sensitive documents in laptops he is carrying.

Some observers said in addition to the sensitive data, Snowden's revelations have provided the Kremlin with propaganda arguments to counter the U.S. criticism of Russia's crackdown on opposition and civil activists under President Vladimir Putin.

"They would use Snowden to demonstrate that the U.S. government doesn't sympathize with the ideals of freedom of information, conceals key information from the public and stands ready to open criminal proceedings against those who oppose it," Konstantin Remchukov, the editor of independent daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta, said on Ekho Moskvy radio.

Putin has accused the U.S. State Department of instigating protests in Moscow against his re-election for a third term and has taken an anti-American posture that plays well with his core support base of industrial workers and state employees.

Comments

Contango

Tue, 06/25/2013 - 8:06am

Mr. Snowden is merely a DISTRACTION from the REAL issue AND debate.

The REAL issue is the extent of the federal, state and local governments' spying on it's own citizens.

"-- The legal interpretation of Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which is used by that court to rule on government requests for information, is classified. So the laws that enable this surveillance are themselves, in effect, secret."

Does this read like the work of a "government of the people, by the people, for the people,"?

Turduckenbreath

Tue, 06/25/2013 - 11:01am

Let's put the shoe on the other foot. Imagine if a person released secrets of the Russian government and then fled to the Unites States. Would we cooperate and send him back to Russia for prosecution?

(Meanwhile, in 2011, the IRS accidentally sent more than $46 million in refunds to 23,994 “unauthorized” alien workers. And they sent it all to one Atlanta address.)

2cents

Wed, 06/26/2013 - 6:35am

BTW, in 2011 the IRS misplaced 2 of my quarterly deposits. I showed them the canceled checks with their name on it, yet they harassed me for an entire year blaming my hand writing on the check where I wrote in the SS number. Hmmmm! They seemed to deposit the correct amount though, to an unknown account? Then they somehow lost the typed receipt that was included with the payment. Next they tried to collect more from me with their threatening letters. I lost all respect for the IRS in 2012 when this all surfaced. Could it have been because I donated to a Republican candidate? It sure is looking more like it every day, I had to pay my accountant and give him power of attorney to get it straightened out, is it now? Who knows, the letters can start at any time. Just like a terrorist bomber or a US drone, they can hit you at any time and you have done nothing wrong!!!!

Contango

Wed, 06/26/2013 - 11:16am

Re: "The IRS misplaced 2 of my quarterly deposits."

My sympathies.

Unfortunately, the govt can harass you longer than you can remain solvent.

Most workers in the U.S. are employed by sm. business. And the economically ignorant wonder why there is a lack of jobs.

2cents

Tue, 06/25/2013 - 8:34pm

LMFAO : ) cute!

Fromthe419

Tue, 06/25/2013 - 9:13am

My question is did he reveal secrets that are vital to national security or did he expose our government of violating our Constitution Rights of privacy? If he revealed specific secrets then get him back here and give him his day in court. If he exposed our government over reaching what is allowed by law, then give him "whistle blower" protection. It amazes me that deertracker would say drone him, since he has been against the Patriot Act since Bush made it law.

deertracker

Tue, 06/25/2013 - 9:46am

Deertracker has never made a comment about the patriot Act. Fact is, all governments do exactly what they want to do. Exposing this or that is not going to change how the government operates and those that think differently are just naïve. The guy is a traitor. He sought out that job for the sole purpose of exposing how the U.S. government operates and deals with other countries. If this guy were a Muslim, you all would be going crazy.

The Big Dog's back

Tue, 06/25/2013 - 3:27pm

Exactly deertracker. But since he's lily white the right wingers give him a pass.

-2cents
Aren't you the same guy, who wrote some months back, that Islam is basically the same as Christianity, according to your Muslim friends in Cleveland ?

2cents

Tue, 06/25/2013 - 1:23pm

I have Syrian friends that are Christian. They wonder why our administration backs the terrorists in Syria, they had no problem with their president or his father, these two men have taken women out of cover and have been promoting education and progress for thirty years. The other hard liners want to push the country back 200 years, cover all women and make Islam the primary. I get first hand information from the people on the streets in Syria!

shucks

Tue, 06/25/2013 - 3:31pm

Didn't you say that Islam is basically the same as Christianity?
I sense a little dodging.

2cents

Tue, 06/25/2013 - 6:05pm

NEVER! I said I use a Muslim barber and ironically he said he would rather have a Jew or Christian do his books. There is an inner mistrust within many Muslims. I never knew why women were covered but was told that it started because they did not trust each other with their wives, so they hide them!

shucks

Tue, 06/25/2013 - 6:32pm

OK, well I agree with your youtube link.

shucks

Tue, 06/25/2013 - 11:24am

"Hell, a Russian sub spent two months in the Gulf of Mexico last yr. and our Intel didn't know about it until after it left! "

Where does it say : "...our Intel didn't know about it until after it left! "?

2cents

Wed, 06/26/2013 - 2:28pm

Could have been a quote from "Hunt for red October" : )

Contango

Tue, 06/25/2013 - 12:08pm

Old news.

"A Russian attack submarine slipped into the Gulf of Mexico undetected and sailed through US strategic waters for weeks without the US Navy noticing, it was reported on Wednesday.

The US military didn't even know about the presence of the Akula-class nuclear submarine earlier this year until after it had already left the gulf, still carrying a payload of long-range missiles."

"The charges against Snowden represent the eighth instance under the Obama presidency that the Espionage Act of 1917 has been used. During all previous American presidencies, the law has been used in a total of three instances to bring charges."

happyfeet64

Tue, 06/25/2013 - 9:33pm

I don't understand why everyone seems to think all this has only occurred since Obama has been in office. Our government never nor should it ever be completely and totally 100% trusted. We've pulled some pretty wicked crap both here and in other countries. It was that way before I was born and it will probably continue after I'm gone. Personally, I am a great believer in ALL of our rights and find the spying thing abhorrent but let's face reality. It's not going to change and we have no way of changing it. Alot of personal freedoms were taken from us without a fight and this is the outcome. As for Snowden, it seems whenever our Government throws a "patriotic" spin on something and overwhelms our media with that spin, we suddenly get gung ho and united which is what we should have done long ago. Am I the only one who feels manipulated by our government? That they are trying to distract us and maybe just maybe everything they are leading us to believe may not actually be true? For all we know, he could have stolen a recipe to Obama's favorite dessert-think about it for a minute-we're all jumping on this "traitor" bandwagon and we don't really know anything except for what "they" have told us. And I do not feel he's a traitor-have a suspicion even if he was to be brought back on charges, the national security card would be played and we would NEVER know what was being done in the courtroom. All I know to be fact is he blew the whistle on them and they're pissed-as such he shouldn't be charged with treason, he should have a protected status same as anyone.

Contango

Wed, 06/26/2013 - 6:25am

2cents writes: "Meanwhile, in 2011, the IRS accidentally sent...)

Here's ANOTHER one for ya:

"In 2012, between 21 and 25 percent of EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) payments made by the IRS were faulty, costing taxpayers between $11.6 billion and $13.6 billion, TIGTA said.

From fiscal 2003 through fiscal 2012, the IG estimates that the sum of the improper payments was between $110.8 billion and $132.6 billion."

With the IRS handling the $1 trillion ObamaCare premium credits, the same percentage of improper credit payments could add up to between $210 billion and $250 billion.

Yea, Pres. Nixon used the Intel agencies to harass his political enemies, but that could NEVER happen in a Democrat Admin.

"The (Church) committee investigated intelligence gathering for illegality by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agency (NSA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after certain activities had been revealed by the Watergate affair."

http://triblive.com/news/editors...
"A Kentucky man who drew attention to the Steubenville, Ohio, juvenile rape case said on Wednesday that the FBI is targeting him because he and other online activists seek social justice through a network of technologies that the government designed to spy on Americans."

“I asked for a copy of the search warrant, and they said, ‘You'll get it later; now shut up,'

It is OK for the feds to hack into American civilian computers to intimidate or gather information. The feds go after political activists who try to expose the lies and find the truth. Has anybody ever researched what happened to members of the Navy Seals who "killed" Bin Ladin? People who know the truth or the lies will be silenced.

http://dailycaller.com/2013/01/2...
"Barrett Brown, the sometime public face of hacktivist group Anonymous, was indicted Wednesday for a third time by federal authorities with an additional two counts of obstruction of justice."

Don't you dare question your government. The government decides what you need to know. Political activists and hactavists are a thorn to the government. The ruling elite decides what is good for the minions.

http://www.sfbg.com/politics/201...
"Many of us who are "hactivists" are post-conventional thinkers, if you are familiar with that concept. Most of us do not believe that the system is irrevocably broken -- we are not revolutionaries or traitors or terrorists. This is why we are making moves that are aimed toward waking up the public, not blowing them up. If that isn't clear enough, I can't see what would be -- we certainly have ample examples of violence in the world. We are sending signals that say, "Please, see that everything is not exactly as you have been told. You are citizens of a Republic. Take the reins and bring it back to rights. Your rights."

Civil disobedients, whistleblowers, leakers, facilitators like Bradley Manning, Edward Snowden, William Binney, Nicholas Merrill, Jake Appelbaum and more -- these people should be honored rather than vilified as people who were willing to risk everything they had in order to send up a distress signal to the nation to say, "All is not right."

http://www.thenewamerican.com/us...
"The Department of Justice is under fire after a leaked terror training presentation aimed at state and local law enforcement revealed that police were being trained to be suspicious of popular bumper stickers including some opposing U.S. government participation in the scandal-plagued United Nations and one urging people to know their rights. Even Americans who hold what the document describes as beliefs that “represent a fairly popular point of view” — pro-life activists, for example — were included in the controversial terror manual."

Who are the guilty ones who are leaking classified information to the enemy?

http://www.worldtribune.com/2013...
"They also believe the U.S. government was derelict in its duties by putting such a large group of SEALS on one aircraft. In addition, they want to know why the troops were using outdated equipment and were not permitted to return fire when under duress."

The brave warriors of Seal Team Six may have known too much about the charade that purported to "take out" the most famous jihadist of the present generation. So they may have been sent on a Uriah Mission to ensure their eternal silence."

"On 6 August, 2011, seventeen Navy SEALs perished when their 1960s vintage CH47-D Chinook helicopter was blasted from the hostile skies over enemy territory by Taliban forces. Among those who died that day were members of SEAL Team 6, the unit responsible for the alleged assignation of bin Laden,"

Centauri

Wed, 06/26/2013 - 3:57pm

http://www.dailypaul.com/284338/...
"25 members of the team who allegedly killed Bin Laden are dead. No conspiracy theory there. Just the facts. You decide. Authorities say one of two Navy SEALs injured during parachute training in southern Arizona has died while the other man remains hospitalized."

"SEAL Team 4 Commanding Officer Job W. Price commit suicide. He was best known for finding and then killing Osama bin Laden."

"Over 20 navy seals are now dead who killed bin laden, coincidence Yeah.. right. There STILL isn’t any evidence at all that we even killed him."

The Big Dog's back

Wed, 06/26/2013 - 6:22pm

This story is bullspit. Not just because it comes from a crackpot like paul.

Centauri

Thu, 06/27/2013 - 12:44am

"This story is bullspit. Not just because it comes from a crackpot like paul."

Prove me wrong BigDog. Post some decent links to counter my links.

The Big Dog's back

Thu, 06/27/2013 - 12:21pm

Read your own link and you will discover they are wrong. One thing about posting links, read the whole thing.

Contango

Thu, 06/27/2013 - 3:08pm

Rather have a "crackpot" like Sen. Paul, than a lying fascist like the Puppet-in-Chief.

Centauri

Thu, 06/27/2013 - 12:55am

hsu-88rjjdhw0=f=pso0d9d940fj89we29uedffuf
"The maker of the popular Firefox browser is moving ahead with plans to block the most common forms of Internet tracking, allowing hundreds of millions of users to eventually limit who watches their movements across the Web, company officials said Wednesday.

Firefox’s developers made the decision despite intense resistance from advertising groups, which have argued that tracking is essential to delivering well-targeted, lucrative ads that pay for many popular Internet services."

Centauri

Thu, 06/27/2013 - 1:03am

The FBI hackers beat the crap out of me today.

registerer

Thu, 06/27/2013 - 8:39am

This dude should meet the tip of a snipers bullet.

It is to funny that the one thing this idiot is supposed to be fighting for, freedom of information and freedom of gov't intrusion wants to go to either Cuba or Ecaudor. Two countries that are strictly controlled by the gov't! He thinks the U.S. gov't is bad wait til he gets a load of their crap.

shucks

Sun, 06/30/2013 - 9:31am

agreed

Centauri

Sun, 06/30/2013 - 6:23pm

It took me like over 2 days to get my computer back away from the federal hackers.

Guess what. I am really P!SSED that they were able to go beyond my firewall, anti-virus and malware protection.